


Do not fall in love with people like me

by rhyfel



Series: Julie and the Future [1]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Future Fic, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:07:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27376186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhyfel/pseuds/rhyfel
Summary: Willie thinks it's funny how he never realized what it meant to have someone else own his soul until he wanted to share it with Alex.Or, Willie doesn't know what happened to the boys after they left the stage at the Hollywood Ghost Club. And that hurts. A lot.
Relationships: Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: Julie and the Future [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1990222
Comments: 16
Kudos: 228





	Do not fall in love with people like me

**Author's Note:**

> My answer to this post on tumblr.
> 
> https://emeraldphantoms.tumblr.com/post/633792230355779584/whats-the-point-of-willie-telling-alex-that
> 
> Title taken from "Do not fall in love with people like me" a poem by Caitlyn Siehl.
> 
> https://wordsfortheyear.com/2014/08/31/do-not-fall-in-love-with-people-like-me-by-caitlyn-siehl/

There were so many things about being a ghost that Willie _loved._ The pranks, of course. But more than that Willie loved the freedom. No one could tell you what to do. Or what not to do. Willie, before he’d died, always had people telling him “No.” The cops, his teachers, the United States government. But when you’re dead, you can go where you want, do what you want, be who you want, and no one can stop you. So, when Caleb said he could have that forever, Willie jumped at the chance. He never could have predicted how much he’d come to regret it.

He never could have predicted Alex.

A few stolen dates, some hand holding, and somehow _Alex_ was one of the things Willie loved about being a ghost. Willie happily brought Alex into his world. He showed him skateboarding and art, talked about pop culture and music and what it was like when he was alive and what it’s like to be dead. And Alex had so many questions and so much passion and when he wanted to get stronger, Willie didn’t even think twice about introducing him to Caleb. Introducing him to the other side of death. To the power.

Funny how he never realized what it meant to have someone else own his soul until he wanted to share it with Alex.

It hurt to see Alex in pain and know that it was his fault. To know that Caleb was using Willie’s soul and all the energy it contained to control someone he cared about. That the only reason he even knew about Alex was because Willie introduced them. Helping Alex and his friends move on – even if it meant Caleb took out his anger on him – was the least he could do.

But Caleb got him anyway.

Caleb made sure Willie was there, made sure he watched as Alex and Reggie and Luke were forced on to the stage. Made sure Willie knew that Caleb would always win. He hated it, but more than that, he hated how a part of him was happy that Alex wouldn’t move on. That they would get to be together as ghosts, even if it wasn’t the freedom Willie thought it was. And then Alex disappears, and then Reggie, and then Luke flickers out before finally disappearing too. Caleb is _furious._ Everyone can feel it. But Willie doesn’t know if it’s because the guys moved on or if they’re okay. Or if they’re gone forever.

And as long as he doesn’t know, he can pretend they’re all right. That if he just went to the studio, he’d see them. And he won’t have lost Alex just when he realized how much he meant.

Instead, he goes to the beach and Sunset Boulevard and skateparks and museums. He tells himself that he would have gone to those places anyway. That he isn’t hoping he’ll see blond hair and blue eyes and a fanny pack that he never got a straight answer about.

The thing about lying to yourself, is deep down you always know.

It’s been three weeks since he last saw Alex in a pink suit on the stage at the Hollywood Ghost Club and he’s at yet another museum a few hours after closing. It’s dark, the lights all off to preserve the art, and he _just can’t seem to get this trick right._ He tries again. And again. And again and again and _again._ And then he’s throwing his helmet to the ground and kicking his skateboard into the corner and yelling at the top of his lungs.

It’s not easy for a ghost to cry. It’s got to be something they feel deeply. But Willie feels this hurt in his soul and he’s sobbing, screaming, _wailing_ , with the pain of losing Alex. Of realizing just how much of his freedom was a lie. Of an unending death under Caleb’s control. He’s crouched on the hard concrete floor of a dark museum and he’s crying and he can’t _stop._

And then he hears “Oh man, you dinged your board.”

He looks up and there’s Alex, skateboard in one hand, the other outstretched towards Willie. Willie grabs it, and Alex is _there_ and he may not have the whole story yet, but for now he has Alex.

And that’s enough.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to chat with me, head to my tumblr!
> 
> rhyming-fellowship.tumblr.com


End file.
